SIFPT Project - Phase 2
The Sustainable Institutional Food Procurement Tasmania Project (SIFPT) is now in Phase 2. After receiving additional funding to extend the project, there is now a key focus on benchmarking public procurement in Tasmania. It we want change we have to know where we are starting from, so we can measure our progress over time. Read more about the findings of SIFPT Phase 1 and the focus of Phase 2 by viewing the infographic below.
EMRS RESEARCH 2023
In 2023 the SIFPT project commissioned EMRS to conduct nationwide polling about community attitudes to public food procurement. What did we learn?
91% of Tasmanians want State and Federal governments to ensure the food served in our public institutions comes from Tasmanian farmers, producers and processors.
That’s the finding from polling conducted by EMRS*. The poll also found that:
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91% of Tasmanians believe food served in institutions should be healthy.
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80% want this food sourced from small and medium sized farmers and processors.
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76% think it should have a low environmental impact because of climate change.
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This survey proves that Tasmanians want governments to use public money to buy healthy Tasmanian food for our public institutions.
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Public institutions include aged care facilities, hospitals, prisons, schools, Meals on Wheels and university campuses.
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The polling also revealed that Tasmanians care more about this issue than mainlanders. On every survey question, Tasmanians agreed more strongly than mainlanders.
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Huge opportunity
Each year, 9 million government-funded meals are served in Tasmanian public institutions.
That is a lot of food! It means we have a huge opportunity to source and serve a lot of healthy Tasmanian food in our institutions.
Sourcing lots more Tasmanian food for our institutions would:
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be good for the economy
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create lots of regional jobs
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secure the livelihoods of our producers
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help to protect our planet
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improve the freshness and nutrient density of meals.
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Simple solution
The best way to seize this huge opportunity is for governments to invest in a new Tasmanian Farm to Institution Program.
This type of program is already happening overseas. We need it in Tasmania too.
Governments need to urgently invest in a new Tasmanian Farm to Institution Program.
Click on the image to download an infographic about the Tasmanian Farm to Institution Program.
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Click on the image to download a copy of the infographic about a Tasmanian Farm to Institution Program
Big benefits
A Tasmanian Farm to Institution Program would be good for the economy by creating new local markets and more jobs in our regions on farms, with processors and wholesalers.
The Program would create a united approach between Tasmanian farmers, processors, wholesalers, institutional food service, businesses, governments, researchers and peak bodies.
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It would also help protect the environment. Twice as much greenhouse gas is created transporting fruit and vegetables compared with their production. This Program would tackle that by working to create shorter supply chains.
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It would also cut food waste which is the single biggest contributor to landfill where it generates huge quantities of climate-damaging methane.
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A Tasmanian Farm to Institution Program would also address the vulnerability in our food systems which has been exposed by COVID and climate change.
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The background
The EMRS polling is part of a larger Australian first project called the Sustainable Institutional Food Procurement Tasmania (SIFPT) Project.
This project started in July 2023 and runs until July 2024. The key activities include​:
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Scoping and mapping the institutional food procurement system in Tasmania—institutions, policy, food service and suppliers.
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Conducting public polling to demonstrate Tasmanian community support.
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Engaging with political, state service and institutional stakeholders to demonstrate the need for action and future commitment to supporting sustainable food procurement.
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Engaging with growers, producers, processors, to identify enablers and challenges to supplying to institutions.
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Developing case studies with institutions that are ready to explore the transition.
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Sharing lessons and tools with Tasmanian and Australian stakeholders to build capacity
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Producing a roadmap for Farm to Institution program investments at the State and Federal level.
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I also completed a Churchill Fellowship exploring this issue in 2022. Here are links for the summary infographic and final report.
THANK YOU TO THE SIFPT PROJECT JOINT FUNDERS
